Microbiome patterns across the gastrointestinal tract of the rabbitfish Siganus fuscescens.

ABSTRACT: Most of our knowledge regarding the biodiversity of gut microbes comes from terrestrial organisms or marine species of economic value, with less emphasis on ecologically important species. Here we investigate the bacterial composition associated with the gut of Siganus fuscescens, a rabbitfish that plays an important ecological role in coastal ecosystems by consuming seaweeds. Members of Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes and delta-Proteobacteria were among the dominant taxa across samples taken from the contents and the walls (sites) of the midgut and hindgut (location). Despite the high variability among individual fish, we observed statistically significant differences in beta-diversity between gut sites and gut locations. Some bacterial taxa low in abundance in the midgut content (e.g.,

SUBMITTER: Nielsen S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5437856 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature